Vicuna

Description

"Vicuna is a native of the most elevated localities of Bolivia and northern Chile. It is very wild, and has resisted all attempts to reduce it to a state of domestication. It is the smallest species of the genus, standing only about 30 inches at the shoulder. It is extremely active and sure-footed, and is seldom taken alive. In habit it somewhat resembles the chamois, as it lives in herds in the regions of perpetual snow. The soft, silky fur is in much demand for making delicate fabrics, and many thousands of these animals are slaughtered annually for the sake of the skins. "—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)